


Broken

by Hecallsmehischild



Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band), Undertale
Genre: Death, F/M, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5236406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hecallsmehischild/pseuds/Hecallsmehischild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>MSA x Undertale crossover. Their souls pulse softly in the little glass cylinders. Purple, blue, orange. The colors of my failure. I am not ready to say goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Red and Blue

I am the first winter storm, howling through Snowdin and terrifying the residents back inside. Their festivities rankle me, digging at the failure ever forefront in my mind. There is only one reason they could be celebrating, one reason all their worldly possessions are strewn in the streets being packed in boxes and bags, ancient steamer trunks and floating magic spheres

_The Barrier is breached._

I am the hurricane force that churns the waters of Waterfall to roaring waves. The siren flees and frenetic cats scatter as I bound over mushrooms and knock down giant, pulsing crystals with my tails in passing. Dark or light, it does not matter. There is one place I must reach. I must know, must see for myself.

_The seven souls have been gathered._

I am the scorching rage the Hotlands have never seen. Two guards in black armor go spinning to the right and left as I plow past. A tiny flaming man screams his name at me. I will never remember him. He is not worth remembering. No one in this accursed land is.

_I have been played for a fool._

I should have known. I should have sensed something. _Anything._ Instead I let myself be led in circles by a daisy that claimed it had seen them just ahead, that they had taken a turn here, and that here they had just caught a riverboat to the next land. Warning me at every step how I must hurry, lest the King steal their souls to break through the magical barrier locking them all underground.

"Fool!" I roar, screaming only at myself. A burger seller dives for cover as I burst into a garish resort, making the most hideous faces at me. A tiny armored fairy blocks my way, shaking its toothpick of a sword in my face. I barely feel it hit my forehead and tumble aside. My claws scrape across metal and circuitry. I pass through The Core in a breath, and I am outside the throne room.

_Please._

I slide to a stop, orange tiles cracking and crumbling under my paws. Before me stretches a glorious carpet of golden flowers, stretching for yards in every direction around a stately gold throne. The throne is empty, as is the throne room. And yet, not completely empty.

_No._

At my paws, nested tenderly in the flowerbed, are six glass containers. Three lie empty, unsealed, their gleaming glass faces betraying nothing of their former contents. One lies empty and sealed, its purpose never fulfilled.

Three lie sealed, pulsing softly, filled with proof of my ultimate failure.

_Forgive me._

I am too late and there is nothing to be done. The Barrier is broken, though if some souls remain I do not know how it was done.

_"You idiot! With all the time you've wasted down here, the seventh soul is prepared. Now all their power is mine!"_

If I find that grinning goldenrod I will tear it to pieces. It knew where they were this whole time, and it stalled me. It stalled to allow for their murder, then it vanished.

I gather the vials into my mouth, bracing them firmly between my tongue and teeth. No more harm will come to them, or what is left of them.

…...

The sun has just risen on the surface. I have been underground for months combing every cavern and questioning every monster in search of them. The warmth seeps through my matted coat, but it does not ease me.

Just down the mountain ridge is a small valley with a meadow. It is there that I lay the vials.

Blue. Purple. Orange. Three hearts pulse in sync, the souls of the humans I called my family. I knew death would take them before I was ready, human lives are so very short. But it was not supposed to be this soon.

One had already passed, but remained for the other two. Now all lay here, and once I release them there will be nothing binding them to this world.

"That is as it should be," I remind myself harshly. "They are supposed to pass on. Supposed to be at rest." And yet I cannot bring myself to unseal the vials.

_So alone._

The sun rises to its peak and then sighs its way to the horizon again, tucking itself down past the mountains as the stars fleck the darkness. I wonder if the King is able to find sleep under these stars, so dearly bought for him to see.

_Don't leave me._

I rest my tails across the vials, unreasonably worried they must be cold. There is no 'cold' and there is no 'hot' for them anymore, but I still draw them close, watching the steady pulse.

Morning comes again, and I can no longer bear it. If I only unseal one, at least I will know what happened. I will hear one voice again. I lower my nose to the blue vial. It is a sharp blue. An unyielding blue. A never-say-die blue that would do anything to hold her band together. My most forthright charge.

"Vivi," I breathe her name over the glass, and it cracks apart. As the container disintegrates, a wave of blue washes over me, and I see her last living moments.

…...

_"You must be the King," I say, shifting the burnt pan in my hand. He doesn't look at all like I pictured a killer monster would look. White fur, a friendly smile, and an outstretched hand offering a cup of tea._

_"Asgore," he affirms, still offering the tea. "How have you found your journey?"_

_I don't take the tea, keeping a grip on the pan. I don't want to kill him. I've had to injure some on my way, but I ran as soon as I could. Others I hid from. Some few call me 'friend,' but this one I was warned about._

_"It was hard," I finally answer. "I left a few banged up heads back there. I'm sorry about that. But I need to get home. My boys are waiting for me."_

_"Your boys?" The hand with the teacup falters. "You have children?"_

_Laughing, I lower the pan slightly. "Sorry, I should be more careful with my choice of words. My best friend, my boyfriend, and my dog. They act like kids sometimes, I guess. Somebody has to look out for them."_

_"If somebody has to look out for them, why are you down here?" He raises an ear quizzically. "Everyone knows the legend of this mountain. Why did you seek this place?"_

_I raise an eyebrow back at him. "A mysterious mountain where nobody comes back from? I guess you've never heard of the Mystery Skulls. We love cases like this."_

_"You say that as if there are more of you, but I see only you."_

_"Yeah, well, I might have gone on ahead." I scowl at the golden flowers blooming all over the floor. "I might have gotten tired of hearing them argue." Or of hearing Lewis berate Arthur. Again._

_"I see. I understand." He smiles warmly, his eyes glistening. "There are people very dear to you. People you need to get back to. You have come this far, I will not stop you."_

_I yank the pan back up again, eyeing him. "You won't? Everyone said you need human souls for this project of yours."_

_"I do," he says softly. "But I have no wish to fight you. Look." He pulls from under his great cloak a blood red trident, laying it on the ground. "On my word of honor, you may pass. Only share a cup of tea with me." He offers it again. "It has been lonely here, and none of the guards appreciate a good cup."_

_I am thirsty, and the tea will probably give me the strength to make it out. That fight with the crazy bot was hard, and I still have a few injuries. I stick the pan in my bag and take the tea, offering a smile. "Thank you… your majesty."_

_"Don't thank me." He turns back to his flowers. "I am only doing what any king would do."_

_I sip the tea. It is a thick, soothing brew, and I feel strength returning to me. I drink the rest and set the cup on the ground, unsure what else to do with it. "Thank you, your majesty. I've never had tea like that." I blink, scrubbing my eyes. I am a little tired. My throat feels dry, even though I've just drunk. "What is it? I'd love to make it for my boys." Well, maybe not Lewis._

_"Honey. Juniper. Lemon." He rises, keeping his back to me, and the room tilts slightly. "Foxglove. Buttercup. Nightshade."_

_My legs aren't working, and I fall facefirst into the flowers. The air is too thick to breathe and the taste of copper is clogging my throat, spewing from my mouth. I am rolled over, but it is hard to see. There are words, but I can't hear. Everything is fading, fading…_

He never drank with me.

…...

"Asgore's life is _mine_!" I roar, raising alarm in three flocks of birds that flee in every direction. I gnash my teeth, shaking my head hard to seal the burning in my eyes away. There will be no tears, there will be no sorrow. Only rage, rage I can take and use to rend this ruler limb from-

There are hands on my snout. I cannot feel them, but I can see them. My rage slides sideways into grief for the hands that I can see my own fur through. I can't bring myself to raise my eyes.

"Mystery," she says, and her voice is just the same and the grief slides harder. "I'm here. Hey, look. I'm here. You found me. I knew you guys would find me."

My words are gone. She does not know. She knows she is dead, but thinks she is the only one. I do not have the words to speak my failure to her. Oh gods, their lives are so short, and now shorter still. I cannot even give them more time, as I'd hoped. Only children, all of them. Mine to protect, mine to guard, and see them now.

"Not long enough," is all I can say, groaning as I drag my face along the ground.

"Mystery! Snap out of it!" She darts directly into my field of vision, hands on her hips. She is more mist than solid projection, vaguely collected in a semi-human form bound into shape by vines of nightshade and stalks of foxglove. Buttercups are woven through her hair, and even through blurred, unfocused features I know she is glaring at me. "Hey! This isn't on you! Don't go here. I pulled a stupid, okay? I let my temper get the better of me. I shouldn't have gone on ahead. Hey, hey." She catches my snout in her hands again. "It's all right. You found me. Let's go find the boys and explain. I'm sure we can work things out."

My snout drops to the remaining two vials and I close my eyes, unable to watch her reaction.

"Oh," she says in a soft rush of air like one winded. Or is it wounded? She hovers over them, taking in the sight of her teammates. "Oh." Definitely wounded.

She reaches for the purple one, and I bark, "No!" She turns back to me, and I lower my head. "Please."

"What's wrong with you?" she demands. "Why don't you want me to let him out?"

How am I supposed to tell her that I can't bear for them to leave? I'm not ready. I'm not prepared. I was supposed to have _time_ to adjust to them being gone!

"Mystery." Her voice is softer. "Why are you crying?"

_Damn._

Her hands are running through my fur, combing through, but all I can feel is my fur moving as if in a breeze, and the confession burns its way out. "I'm not ready for you to leave me. When you're all out and you've all resolved what keeps you here, you'll leave. I'm not ready, Vivi." I am a cur. A beast. The worst friend or guardian anyone could have. I should be helping them move on, but instead I'm making it even harder for them to pass in peace.

She doesn't scold me. Her arms circle my neck, and though I can't feel her arms, I imagine a faint warmth there.

"I'm sorry, Mystery."

"I should have gone after you right then," I tuck my chin over her. "I should have been with you."

She doesn't say anything, and she doesn't move back toward the vials. She stays where she is, her fingers combing through my fur, which parts at her touch. The sun beams down from its height, then moves slowly toward the mountains again. As night cools me once again, I wonder how long she would stay there. If I don't ever move again, would we stay like this until we slip into legend? I would not mind.

Stars light and dim too fast, the moon pinwheeling across the sky to make way for the sun again. Time no longer has meaning to me. It is as it was before Vivi found me, bleeding out in some gutter I'd dragged myself to. Days, months, decades. What difference does it make to an immortal? With _them_ , time had regained some meaning, but now…

And yet I drop my gaze back to the two remaining vials. The grass is thicker around them now, and there are tiny flowers dotting the meadow that weren't there before. How long have I stood here already? Vivi's fingers still groom my fur, and I am sick at myself.

Because I am not ready, I have already delayed their passing for gods know how long, and I have kept Vivi separate from her friends, unsure of their fates.

"Enough." I turn to Vivi, gently swiping at what I can no longer feel with my tongue. My coat is glossy and smooth from nape to tails from her grooming, and she hovers there, watching me. "Enough. How long?"

"As long as it took," she answers softly.

My wise, clever Vivi. I turn to the vials and roll the purple one free from its grassy nest. "Lewis," I whisper. The vial bursts apart, and the field is engulfed in pink flame as the memory sears me.


	2. Purple and Orange

I blink, confused as the purple coalesces into a familiar skeletal form. Where are his memories? His last moments? His-ah. But he already died, how foolish of me. Now there is only flame, crackling out from his feet along the meadow, and a fist slammed crater-deep into the ground.

"Coward!" He bellows. "Fight me!"

Vivi circles up behind him and coils her arms around his middle. Immediately the flames die down, and his posture loosens. "Vivi," he sighs, resting his hands on her arms. "I found you. Good. Let's get out of here before…" he trails off, shoulders rising again. "Why can I feel you?"

Vivi doesn't answer, burying her face in his back.

"I can't feel anybody anymore!" His voice rises. "Why can I _feel_ you now?" He grabs her arm, spinning around to face her.

"Hey, Lew," she says, her features blurring even more. "Things didn't go quite according to plan… again."

"But… but I was there!" He grips both of her arms desperately. "I got there! The flower said you were at the throne room! Nobody stopped me, nobody challenged me because they thought I was one of them! I had to have been minutes behind you!"

"Or ahead of me," she says softly. "I was down there a few weeks, Lew. I'm sorry."

Lewis sinks to his knees, still clutching Vivi's arms. His head drops, his shoulders heaving. "It wasn't even a fight. He just opened a vial. First glass ghost-trapping equipment. It was over in seconds and I couldn't stop this." He reaches up, touching Vivi's face. For a moment her expression is perfectly clear as she leans into his hand.

"And where is Arthur?" Lewis growls. "Probably hiding under a rock somewhere, waiting for someone to save him."

Vivi yanks away, her features dripping away and the buttercup petals in her hair sharpening to points. "Don't you dare."

Lewis stands, his hands balling into fists. I want to swipe that flaming skull away from his body as he retorts, "Well if he isn't here and he isn't hiding, where is he?"

I turn to the last vial, my tails tucked. Here lies my greatest failure, the one I have already harmed the most. Since that day he has hardly been able to look at me, much less pet or play with me as he used to. He had just begun to smile again, until Lewis returned to us. I lower my nose. It is unfair of me to bind him here. He has suffered enough. Perhaps he can finally rest.

Lewis crosses his arms, eyes narrowed as he takes in the existence of the third vial. "Don't expect me to feel sorry for him because he's dead."

My hackles rise, but Lewis' attitude is not my concern at the moment. "Arthur," I whisper, waiting for his appearance.

The vial does not break.

Vivi drifts down to the vial. "Arthur?" she calls. Lewis grunts, irritated.

I nudge the vial harder. It rolls a few inches, but does not break. The soul inside pulses a steady orange, and as I call his name again, I sense it. A faint resistance, a clinging to the bonds that keep him contained… or is it to the shield that keeps us out? He does not want to emerge.

Vivi is too fresh a spirit to sense it, but Lewis can and turns his head away. "Coward to the end."

"Lewis!" Vivi turns on him, the vines prickling with tiny thorns. "I've had it up to here! What is your problem?"

"What is _my_ problem?" Lewis echoes in disbelief, one hand drifting to his middle.

"You heard me! You know what happened. You know Arthur was possessed. Unless you think Mystery's a liar and I'm an idiot, then you're just being bitter for no reason!"

"He was weak!" Lewis hissed. "He opened the door for that demon, he entertained the thoughts! If he hadn't, that night wouldn't have ended with me six feet under!"

"Yeah, and you haven't had thoughts like that ever. You're the perfect model of self-control and good intentions, Mr. Great-Balls-Of-Fire!"

The orange heart pulses brighter, the resistance receding as Vivi's words sharpen.

"If I was alive we wouldn't be arguing about this!" Lewis growled. "Do you know why? Because he wouldn't have killed me! Which means we'd all be on great terms, and you wouldn't have run off, and maybe, just maybe, you'd be alive right now too. Instead, we're all dead. Great job, Artie. Screwed us all over again. Helped get that flower exactly what it wanted, just like the demon in the cave."

And the glass cracks. Orange spills from the container, sparks flashing and crackling as an anguished cry takes me into Arthur's last moments.

_"I failed!"_

…..

_There is dust on my hands and I am sick. I tried. I hid, I ran, I begged mercy, but some of them just wouldn't stop. I only meant to wound them, but almost nobody could match me after I modded my arm. It was only for defense, I told myself after I left the kindly woman in the Ruins. Lewis had left me behind, claiming he could search for VIvi faster without me since he was no longer human and they wouldn't suspect him. It was just me against whoever came along, wanting my soul. Part of me wonders if that's another reason Lewis left me behind._

_I ruined the functions of my arm, binding the fingers together and sharpening the outer edge from elbow to fingertips until it was like a blade. I had to find Vivi and Lewis. It was my fault they'd vanished here. If I had worked harder at resolving things with Lewis instead of ducking my head every time he came around, Vivi wouldn't have been so frustrated and left without us. Or Lewis would have waited for me, and gods knew where he was now. It had been exactly three weeks and five days since I'd seen either of them and I had to make it right._

_There is dust on my hands as I stand before the King, and I feel his gaze weighing me. Or is it my own judgment I feel crawling up my back? I can't tell anymore. His eyes are sad, not angry, but that only makes it worse._

_I draw on the information the flower gave me, cradling the arm that has become a weapon. "I'm sorry, but I have to make things right. I'm here for Vivi and Lewis. Vivi is dressed head to toe in blue, you can't have missed her. Lewis is already in the form you're seeking; a soul. I know you need them. I know_ why _you need them. But I can't let you have them."_

_He doesn't say a word. He pulls out a trident, long and red, and grips it in two meaty hands._

_"Where are you keeping them?" I step back, holding my arm defensively. "Where is the dungeon?"_

_He lunges forward, the trident clashing off my arm. I'm thrown back in a shower of sparks, and I am barely to my feet before he comes again, swinging it to stun. I tuck and roll forward, spinning on my heel to meet his next blow, which dents my arm. Pain flashes down my spine. The connector implant can't take too many of these._

_"Where are my friends?" I shout, shoving the trident. The king barely moves. He is solid, and I am already shaking, but I can't fail. Not again. If I could only get to Lewis!_

_He finally speaks. "I'm sorry," he says. "But I have to make things right."_

_And I understand. He will not be moved, just as I will not be moved. Neither of us wants to be here, but neither of us can leave the other in peace. I have to kill him._

_My stomach lurches at the thought, but he is already in position to strike again. I dart to the side, the trident slicing through my vest. Stuffing is all I've lost, but it's a grim reminder of the stakes. And not just mine._

_I dart in under his next swing, landing a blow to his side. He grunts, spinning around. His cloak knocks me off balance and I fall to the flowerbed. Something jams into my back, something small and hard. Grabbing it, I hold it up, hoping it's an extra weapon of some kind._

_A blue heart pulses softly inside a crystalline cylinder, and I freeze. For a moment, nothing else exists except that small blue heart. But there is another cylinder under my leg, and I tilt it up with my foot. Its contents are an unmistakable shade of purple._

_I curl my only remaining arm around both jars, hugging them close to my chest. I'm too late. Too late to warn Lewis that I'm not myself, watching him plummet over the cliff's edge all over again. Too late to tell Vivi I'm sorry, I'll stop being such a coward. Too late to grow a spine and tell Lewis enough is enough, that we have to find some resolution for Vivi's sake, if not mine. Too late, too late. And now, Lewis will never forgive me and Vivi is gone._

_"I'm sorry," I whisper, rocking the jars. "I'm sorry."_

_"So am I," the King murmurs behind me. Three holes drill through me. My lung, my spine, my intestines. The jars fall from my arm. I can't think and I can't breathe. I can only gape and twitch like a beached fish, staring up at the painted ceiling. A swift jerk, and I am freed to fall among the flowers. I am at eye level with what is left of my friends as darkness crowds my vision._

I failed.

….

He is on his hands and knees. He looks like himself, if faintly transparent, but thick brambles bind him from wrists to shoulders and down his back and legs. Every movement grinds them through his outer membrane, so he holds still. He looks for all the world like a penitent supplicant, or a prisoner brought to execution.

"I faaaailed," he repeats, his words wheezing terribly past three gaping holes in his torso.

Lewis also sees and takes a step back. His skeletal appearance flickers, briefly revealing a stricken human expression. He has never actually seen Arthur suffer before.

"It's one thing to wish it. It's another to see, isn't it, Lewis?" I drop my head to nuzzle Arthur, but the thorns tear at my snout. They are all too real. Can a ghost feel pain?

"I faaaaaaailed," Arthur moans. "Tooooo weak. Lewisssssss gone. Viviiiiii gone. Toooo late."

Regret, a ghost's strongest anchor to this world. Stronger, even, than vengeance. It tightens itself around him with every word he speaks, burying roots deep in the earth. Vivi darts down to him, taking his face in her hands.

"Arthur, don't you dare! Nobody made me go on ahead, it was me! Arthur Kingsmen, you are not responsible for my death!"

A grin hangs crooked on Arthur's face, the sort of smile that is a last ditch attempt to keep from breaking down. "So you can seeee the sins. I feel them crawling up my baaaack." He licks his lips, wheezing, "They say. They say. They say to me. Failuuuure. Muuuurderer."

There is nothing I can do for Arthur. I have no claim to this pain, no words to ease it. The act was not against me. I turn to Lewis.

It has been too long since I have seen the boy like this. He stands in his traditional outfit; purple pants, a smart white shirt, purple vest, purple ascot. Aghast is the only fit word to describe his face, and I feel a twinge of satisfaction.

"Snap out of it!" Vivi shakes Arthur, but his regrets spike out, repelling her.

A bramble winds itself up Arthur's face, tearing through ghostly membrane to reveal a skeletal grin. "Ssssssory, Vivi." His outlines tremble with fear. "Y-you should g-go ooonnn without me. I don't think I'll be p-passing on with you anytime sooooon." He stares past her to Lewis, his grin cranking wider. "You're f-free. Gooooooo."

I dearly want to ask if Lewis feels the weight of his own sins, but I hold my tongue and my breath together. Arthur is mistaken, and whether any of them can pass on or not hinges on Lewis now.

Lewis approaches slowly, crushing burnt grass to powder under his black shoes. He stands in front of Arthur, who grins up at him. Brambles line either side of his face now, and there is more bone than face. "Now you can ressssst in peace," Arthur gasps, the sound whistling through the holes in his torso. "Justice sssssserved."

"Where did you get these?" Lewis' voice cracks. "These aren't yours. Not all of them."

Arthur's laugh is empty. "Asssriel needed a window… somebody had… to take… these..."

Lewis falls to his knees in front of Arthur, who gasps out, "What… better person… than the weakest… link…"

Lewis' fingers curl around the brambles, prying them away from Arthur's face. They writhe against his grip, but his palms light with pink flame, reducing the brambles to ash as he unwinds each branch. The last few wind themselves through the holes in Arthur's torso, wrenching pained cries from him.

"D-don't!" He hisses. "It-t'll get worse..."

Ignoring him, Lewis grabs a branch right by the first hole, his face twisting as he manages, "You're not weak."

Arthur looks up at him, holding perfectly still.

"This… this isn't weak." He tugs carefully. Arthur chokes, but the brambles slide out of the first hole. The branches through the second and third hole won't budge. "These ones are yours, aren't they?" Arthur's form shudders, and Lewis bows his head. "What are their names?"

"Envyyyy," slithers from his lips, his fingers digging into the ground. "Muuuurder."

Lewis' hand moves to the second bramble. "You're lying. It's not murder."

"Murrrrrrder."

"It's not. And you know it. You've been telling me all along-"

"Murrrder!" Arthur cries, finally breaking his stillness to struggle to his feet. "Murrrrderrrer!"

Vivi clings to my leg, and I know it is more to restrain herself than for comfort.

Lewis grabbed Arthur by the shoulders, searching his shredded face. "How many times did you apologize to me?"

Arthur looks away, but Lewis shakes him. "How many?"

"Sixty-three," he rasps. "Forty sssssseven to youuuu. Fifteeeeeen over your graaaaave. Onnnnnnnnnnce in the cave."

It is difficult to keep from snarling, "I told you so!" in Lewis' face. I have seen Arthur grovel so many times that even hearing him recount the number is painful. It isn't as though Lewis never heard him, but I can see him going back over every one of those forty seven apologies in his mind as if hearing each differently.

Lewis' face crumples and he nearly crushes Arthur's soul in embrace. "Not murder." Lewis holds him tight. "What is it?"

"Ssssshaammme," Arthur groans as it twists in the holes.

My ears flatten. "That isn't even a sin. That is nothing more than an anchor holding you here."

Lewis groans, "I didn't want to see it. I'm sorry, Arthur. Please let it go."

Arthur's head lifted to stare at Lewis. "Forgive…. meeee?"

"Yes. I forgive you."

The edges of Arthur's form glint brighter, the remaining brambles shriveling to dust. His face knits back together, as do other torn parts of his outer form. His arms wrap around Lewis, returning the hug with uncharacteristic fierceness. Vivi leaves my leg to embrace the both of them.

I lay down, resting my chin on my forepaws. Many months have passed since I was privy to such a scene, but it brings with it bitter pangs. Lewis has chosen well, and now their ties to this plane are cut. It is only a matter of time now...


	3. Orange and Red

"Mystery."

I don't want to open my eyes. I'd shut them, hoping that maybe they'd vanish while I was asleep and I wouldn't have to say goodbye myself. I should have known better, they wouldn't leave without checking on me. Vivi wouldn't let them. Lewis cared, but in a passing way. He would have left by now if not for her. Arthur? Maybe at one point he would have stayed of his own accord, but those days ended rather abruptly.

Little breezes kiss my muzzle and I crack my eyes open to see Vivi resting her cheek there.

"You have to go." Resignation, not command, fills my statement.

She says nothing. Her form is already fading. Whether she wants to leave or not, her ties to this place are severed. Lewis chose well, and already the three of them are fainter.

Two. Two are fainter. Arthur is more solid than either Lewis or Vivi. A whine works its way through my clenched teeth. _What did I do wrong now that he can't move on?_

"It'll be all right, Mystery." I can barely hear Vivi. Lewis rests his hands on her shoulders. "Everything is going to work out. Thanks for looking out for us while you could." She looks over to Arthur. "You're sure?"

Arthur nods his head firmly, flashing a lopsided grin. "I'll catch up eventually. He can't live forever."

Lewis shakes his head, a regretful smile on his face. "I wish I'd seen this side of you more, Artie."

"No time for regrets, Lew."

Vivi clings to my muzzle for another few seconds. I can't muster more than a ginger nudge, it hurts too much. Already I can barely see them as Lewis pulls Vivi back, holding her close. Whatever happens, at least they will be with each other. Even I do not know what happens when a ghost passes on.

They are gone. Beside me, Arthur heaves a sigh.

"Why are you still here?" I ask, dull with grief.

"Call it unfinished business. Got a question for you. Can you smell Asgore from here?"

A spark burns through the heavy cloud. I nearly forgot. My lips pull back from my teeth and I lift my nose to scent the air. I remember the air of the throne room, heavy with goat musk and flowers. And there it is. He has not gone far from the Underground, he is in easy range. Two days' run at most.

"Yes," I growl.

"Good. I think you should go see him, Mystery." An odd smile plays on Arthur's lips as he begins to fade away. "I think it'll help."

A moment of panic brings me to my feet. Arthur didn't say goodbye, I didn't apologize! But he is gone, and all I have is a howling cavern for a chest and an unbearable burning in my belly.

_Asgore will pay._

I take to my paws, leaving the charred valley behind. The king has gotten what he wanted, and now he will suffer the consequences of his choice. He is not above consequences, nobody is. I will make him suffer, see him twist in the anguish of his choice. I will make him _writhe_ before he dies!

Day becomes night becomes day becomes night. I do not need sleep, I do not want food. I want Asgore's dust scattered to the wind. I want to hear him scream and plead and regret. Regret. _Regret!_ Every child murdered in his hall. Even mine were just children, not nearly aged enough.

At dawn his scent is all around me. I have entered a vast garden. Yellow flowers explode in clouds of fragrant petals underpaw. He is close. Closer.

There. He kneels over a bed of the flowers. His regal cloak is gone, and he wears simple jeans and a hawaiian patterned shirt.

I wonder who he murdered for those clothes.

I slow to a walk, pacing toward him. My tails stick straight out behind me, my ears press flat to my skull. I stop behind him, growling through my teeth.

He doesn't acknowledge me.

"One life for six is not nearly repayment enough, but it will have to do," I snarl, parting my jaws wide to attack.

He lifts his head, a warm smile on his face. "Hey, Mystery. You made it."

I am frozen. Those eyes, they are not the stricken eyes of the King of the Monsters from Vivi's recollection. They're the eyes that shone with excitement every time a new ghost-hunting gadget finally worked. The eyes that followed Lewis and Vivi's sappy romance with a dark shadow. The eyes that went so dull and lifeless for months that I could hardly find him in them anymore.

"Arthur?" I crack, my hindquarters thumping heavily to the ground. "You're gone."

"Not gone. Just gone ahead."

"What do you think you're doing? Why are you with… in… him? What could you possibly gain from this?"

Asgore's bulky frame rises slowly, dusting the front of its shirt off. "Nothing, Mystery. I don't really get a lot out of this. It's not about me."

"I don't understand. Why didn't you leave with the others?"

"I told you. Unfinished business."  
I whine, unable to understand what he's talking about. "Are you here to kill him too?"

He laughed, and things hurt a little less. I haven't heard a laugh that clear from him in over a year. "He asked me that when I came here. If I was here to end it. Gods, how many times I thought Lew would end it…" He shook his head, smiling. "I get something about Lew, though. You're tied to the person that killed you. You can let it go right then, or you can stick around and follow that lead straight back to them. I found Asgore right after I left you. He was standing on the edge of a cliff."

Asgore's face softened, Arthur's eyes crinkling at the memory. "He'd been standing there for a while. I joined him there on the edge, and he asked if I was there to end it. He said he wouldn't stop me, in fact, he sounded relieved. Like he didn't have to make the choice himself."

"Why didn't you? After what he did!"

"Why didn't Lewis?"

"That's different! You didn't want to harm him!" I snarl, my tails lashing the ground.

"It was different, but the end result is not." He put a hand over his chest. "Yes, there are differences in our stories, but similarities too. Killing Asgore would only continue the cycle. A monster would die by human hand, even if that human was already dead. Subjects would find his dust and grieve. And rage. And take that rage and spread it further, reigniting the very war that started all this. Mystery, don't you see?" He spread his arms wide. "Now the cycle is broken."

I can't move. Arthur's words ring true, but it doesn't ease the pain. "And how exactly did _this_ come about?" I jerk my chin at him.

He looks past me, as if seeing the scene unfold again. "I wasn't going to kill him, but he was so tired, Mystery. He said he felt the weight of every death crushing him. He wasn't strong enough to keep going, he said. And I said," and his eyes twinkled, "sounds like you could use some bravery."

And I can't help a small smile of my own. "Take it from a coward," I quote him, "Bravery's not throwing yourself at danger willy nilly. Bravery's knowing when you have to step in because nobody else will."

He grinns, flashing a thumbs up. "You got it."

"So," I hedge, uncertain. "You're not moving on?"

"Not for a long time, buddy. Asgore's got a lot to work out. He won't go on forever, but until it's his time he needs a little backup."

"And this is what you stay for?" My lip curls again. "You stay to heal your murderer?"

Asgore's head tilts to the side, that smile never leaving his face. "Well, that's part of it. But there's also one particular fuzzball that was never really ready for all this." He holds his arms wide again. "C'mon, buddy. Did you really think nobody was gonna stick around and keep an eye on you?"

My heart lurches and I dive forward, burying my muzzle in his arms. I feel them, strong and warm and furry and _real_.

"Lewis' ties died with me, and Vivi wasn't going to let him go alone. I could stay, I had a choice because of Asgore. The three of us talked about it while you slept. I'll see them again someday, but for now, I've got a lot of work ahead of me." He strokes my fur. "Can I count on you for help?"

"Anything," I swear.

"Can you forgive this fuzzy jerk?"

My hackles rise, but I manage, "I will try."

"Then stay here with him, Mystery. I offered him what strength I could lend because I think he's a good person and he'll use it well. I just asked for a few minutes to talk with an old friend in exchange. Do me a favor, though, and keep the biting to a minimum." He chuckled. "If he keeps both his arms we might end up testing out some new inventions. Can you imagine magic powered tech, buddy? A whole world of possibilities opened up!"

I put a paw on his shoulder. "So, you are here, but you will not always be here?"

"Think of me as a backup generator. I'm here and I can see and hear and feel everything, but I'm not so talky. This is Asgore's life, after all. Not mine. I'm not here to take it over. But I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I said hi every now and then."

I lick his face. "You are certainly full of surprises."

He pulls back, wiping his face with a grimace. "And you're full of slobber." He scrubs his face dry and sticks his hands in his pockets. "Alright. Well. I think it's about time. Mystery, meet the King. Your Majesty, meet Mystery."

And Asgore's face changes, his head drooping and his shoulders stooped. "Greetings, Mystery," he says, his voice like a wrung dishtowel. "But Asgore is just as well."

There are circles under his eyes that I did not see before, and a sorrow so large I can hardly see the leader in him. And I understand Arthur's choice.

"Greetings, Asgore." I fumble with my words. What do I say now that I am no longer here to kill him? Arthur is counting on me! And then I remember the cavern ceilings, studded with glittering gems, heavy with the hopes of countless monsters. "Do you find the stars to your liking?"

And for a moment his head lifts. "They are more than I could have ever hoped for."

I stretch out, lowering my chin to my forepaws. "I, too, found more than I ever could have hoped for on the surface. May I tell you? I think you will find comfort in the story. My stars were the Mystery Skulls, and the day Vivi pulled me from the gutter was the day time regained its meaning…"

**THE END**


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